TODAY’S TOP ARTICLES – 21 NOV 2013

United States:Fed officials felt taper may happen at next few meetings: minutes
According to the minutes of the most recent FOMC meeting, the Fed will begin tapering its asset purchase program “in coming months” if the economy continues to improve as expected. Details of the meeting also suggest that Fed officials are trying to shift the focus away from the eventual tapering of bond buying and more towards forward guidance and rate expectations.

EU:ECB ready to fight deflation
This Bloomberg article reports that the ECB might be ready to use some of its instruments to reflate the Euro economy if deflationary pressures increase. In particular, the ECB may charge negative interest rates to deposits, in order to introduce incentives to banks to increase credit.

Singapore:Singapore Raises 2013 GDP Growth Forecast on Manufacturing
Bloomberg reports that Singapore’s government revised upward its forecasts on economic growth for this year and the next. Now it expects GDP to growth between 3.5%-4.0% in 2013 and 4.0% in 2014. The revision comes amid stronger externally-oriented sectors like manufacturing, wholesales trade, as well as transportation and storage.

Greece:Greece to submit 2014 budget without rubber stamp from troika
Kathimerini reports that on Thursday the Greek government will present to the parliament the draft budget for 2014 without the final approval of the troika. This means that a supplementary budget may have to be submitted early next year. The troika and the government are not expected to reach an agreement before the Eurogoup meeting on 9 December.

Australia:The IMF sees the AUD overvalued
One of the main problems the Australian economy is facing is a strong Australian Dollar (AUD). Recently, the IMF has claimed that it is in fact overvalued, and that the Reserve Bank of Australia’s expansive monetary policy remains appropriate to return the AUD to its fundamental value, as Bloomberg reported.